Mexico GP qualifying: Lewis Hamilton pips Sebastian Vettel to third as Daniel Ricciardo takes pole
Hamilton closing in on another Formula One world title but will need to make he stays ahead of fierce rival Vettel
DANIEL RICCIARDO took pole position for the Mexican Grand Prix with a sensational last-ditch effort to deny his Red Bull teammate, Max Verstappen his maiden pole.
Lewis Hamilton will start Sunday’s race in third place after he out-qualified Sebastian Vettel, who will line up alongside the Brit on the grid in fourth place.
But Hamilton says he will be keeping one-eye on the German after they tangled on the first lap here 12 months ago.
Hamilton just needs to finish in the top seven to win his fifth world title while Vettel must win AND see the Mercedes man finish outside the top eight.
Hamilton said: "You saw what happened last year with the red car behind...
"It really depends how we get away but third place is a nice place to start here, you get a good tow from the guys up ahead.
"I'm going to fighting to at least gain a position but of course I'm aware of the Bulls up ahead."
It was a sweet pole for Ricciardo after the heartbreak of retiring from the US GP last weekend.
He said: "I'm tripping major nutsack right now. I knew the pace was there somewhere.
"I knew putting the lap together would be crucial as always. Max showed the pace was in the car all weekend.
"I just knew I had to put in a clean lap at the end. Shout out to the team, it's a one-two. It's pretty cool."
Meanwhile, Verstappen who had topped all three practice sessions, could not hide his disappointment at being beaten by his teammate.
He added: "The whole qualifying was c**p. Same problems from P2, engine braking not how I want to, rear-locking the car.
"We tried to make the best of it and I thought it was going to be enough with the problems we had, but it's still good to be second."
It was a thrilling qualifying as Kimi Raikkonen was first to top the timesheets before Vettel went even quicker.
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Hamilton then had his first crack but was unable to leapfrog his rival, who held on the top spot.
Verstappen then topped the pack with a brilliant first attempt that was 0.185 seconds quicker than Vettel.
However, there was late drama as Ricciardo powered through undetected to set a new track record in the process.
Local hero Sergio Perez missed out on making the top-10 shoot-out and qualified in 13th place while two-time world champion, Fernando Alonso, qualified in 12th place in his McLaren.
However, there was more disappointment for the Williams team as Sergry Sirotkin qualified in last place while Lance Stroll was just one place ahead of him.